The Alaska Sports Hall of Fame recently announced that Joe Redington Sr. and Rick Swenson were inducted as members of the Class of 2008.

Other Athlete inductees include Carlos Boozer, Utah Jazz forward and National Basketball Association All Star, Trajan Langdon, the first Alaskan to play in the NBA and Mark Schlereth, three-time Super Bowl champion.

Joe Redington Sr., the “Father” of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race from Anchorage to Nome. Redington was widely regarded for his role in establishing and promoting the race, which went on to become Alaska’s premier sporting event. Redington competed in the race 17 times, finishing as high as fifth place. He died in 1999.

Rick Swenson, sometimes known as the “King of the Iditarod”, he won the race an unprecedented five-times and is the only person to win the race in three different decades. Swenson has completed the race 29 times, finishing in the top-ten in all but five.

Other Class of 2008 Inductees Include;

Carlos Boozer, who played at Duke University. The former Juneau-Douglas High star is now one of the elite power forwards in the NBA with the Utah Jazz. Boozer helped lead Duke to a National Championship in 2001 and earned an Olympic Bronze Medal with Team USA in the 2004. Boozer was named an NBA All-Star in 2007.

Trajan Langdon, the East High basketball star who played at Duke University before a short career in the NBA. Langdon was a three-time Alaska high school athlete of the year before going on to an All-American career at Duke University. Known as “the Alaskan Assassin” for his shooting prowess, he set the team record for three pointers. Langdon was drafted in the NBA lottery by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 1999 and still plays professionally overseas.

Mark Schlereth, a Service High grad who went on to win three Super Bowl rings as a Pro Bowl offensive lineman, first with the Washington Redskins, then with the Denver Broncos. Widely regarded for his durability, Schlereth started 140 out of 156 games in his 12-year career despite undergoing 20 knee surgeries. Schlereth is now one of ESPN’s most prominent football analysts.

The Great Alaska Shootout, originally called the Seawolf Classic, received top honors in the event category. The college basketball tournament in Anchorage features colleges from all over the United States and annually brings national attention to Alaska.

The moment selected was Tommy Moe’s 1994 Olympic gold medal in the downhill. Moe’s dramatic victory stunned the world and made him an instant national celebrity. Tommy Moe was inducted into the charter class of the Hall of Fame as an individual.

“The Class of 2008 is an impressive list,” said Harlow Robinson, President of the Alaska Sports Hall of Fame. “We are proud to welcome them into the Hall!”

The public is welcome to attend the induction ceremony for the class on February 19, 2008 at the ConocoPhillips atrium in Anchorage. ConocoPhillips is a major sponsor of this event.

Other athletes receiving votes (in alphabetical order): Big Bob Aiken, Red Boucher, Audun Endestad, Rosey Fletcher, Doug Herron, Nicole Johnston, Reggie Joule, Nina Kemppel, Wally Leask, Hilary Lindh, Buck Nystrom, Brad Precosky, Reilly Richey, Libby Riddles, Vern Tejas, Norman Vaughan, Bradford Washburn.

Other events receiving votes (in random order): Midnight Sun baseball game, World Eskimo-Indian Olympics, Yukon Quest, Mount Marathon, Gold Medal basketball tournament, Special Olympics, Alaska Woman’s Run, Arctic Winter Games.

Other moments receiving votes (in random order): Susan Butcher’s first of three straight Iditarod victories; Hilary Lindh’s Olympic silver medal in the downhill run; Les Anderson’s world-record king salmon catch; the 1978 Iditarod photo finish between Dick Mackey and Rick Swenson; Scott Gomez brings the Stanley Cup to Anchorage; Monroe Catholic beats East Anchorage to win the 1979 state basketball championship; Kris Thorness becomes Alaska’s first Olympic medalist, Rick Swenson’s fifth Iditarod victory, Doug Herron’s 800 meter record, UAF’s victory in the Top of the World Classic, Susan Butcher’s fourth Iditarod victory, Carlos Boozer leads Duke to the 2001 National championship, the 1925 Serum Run, Noorvik’s Elliot Sampson wins the high school cross country championships.

Selection panel: Bob Eley, sports editor, Fairbanks Daily News-Miner (chairman); Beth Bragg, columnist and former sports editor, Anchorage Daily News; Dennis Egan, radio broadcaster, Juneau; Lew Freedman, Chicago, former Anchorage Daily News sports editor and author of numerous books about Alaska sports; Mike Janecek, Palmer, longtime high school coach and athletics administrator; Danny Martin, sports writer, Fairbanks Daily News-Miner; Steve Nerland, Anchorage, American Legion baseball manager; Mike Sica, longtime Alaskan sports broadcaster and journalist. Results of Internet voting by the public constituted the panel’s ninth vote.

The Alaska Sports Hall of Fame is a 501(c) 3 non-profit organization established March 17, 2004. The mission of the Alaska Sports Hall of Fame is to teach, to honor and to inspire. For additional information about the Alaska Sports Hall of Fame, visit http://www.alaskasportshall.org/, contact Harlow Robinson at 907.240.3684 or Denise Brown Robinson at 907.360.1832.